113:3 The phrase is 'made up of the farther boundary of Brahma;' implying either 'comprehending the supreme, or Brahma, and transcendental wisdom, Pára;' or, consisting of the farthest limits (Pára) or truths of the Vedas or Brahma;' that is, being the essence of the Vedánta philosophy. The hymn that follows is in fact a mantra or mystical prayer, commencing with the reiteration of the word Para and Pára; as, ###. Para means 'supreme, infinite; and Pára, 'the farther bank or limit,' the point that is to be attained by crossing a river or sea, or figuratively the world or existence. Vishńu, then, is Para, that which nothing surpasses; and Pára, the end or object of existence: he is Apára pára, the farthest bound of that which is illimitable, or space and time: he is Param parebhyah, above or beyond the highest, being beyond or superior to all the elements: he is Paramártha rúpí, or identical with final truth, or knowledge of soul: he is Brahma pára, the object or essence of spiritual wisdom. Parapárabhúta is said to imply the farther limit (Pára) of rudimental matter (Para). He is Para, or chief Paránam, of those objects which are beyond the senses: and he is Párapára, or the boundary of boundaries; that is, he is the comprehensive in-vesture of, and exterior to, those limits by which soul is confined; he is free from all incumbrance or impediment. The passage may be interpreted in different ways, according to the ingenuity with which the riddle is read.

115:4 This part of the legend is peculiar to our text, and the whole story of Márishá's birth is nowhere else so fully detailed. The penance of the Prachetasas, and its consequences, are related in the Agni, Bhágavata, Matsya, Padma, Váyu, and Bráhma Puráńas, and allusion is briefly made to Márishá's birth. Her origin from Kańd́u and Pramlochá is narrated in a different place in the Bráhma Puráńa, where the austerities of Kańd́u, and the necessity for their interruption, are described. The story, from that authority, was translated by the late Professor Chezy, and is published in the first number of the Journal Asiatique.